Method for selecting products

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for selecting products, wherein with each product there is associated a data set with a plurality of product characteristics, wherein the selection of a product is performed based on criteria selected by a user relating to the characteristics, and wherein the selection is displayed on a graphic display unit. 
     The object of the invention to simplify the selection process in such a way that the number of results is limited by simplifying the criteria for the characteristics, is solved by setting the criteria for the characteristics on at least two scales and setting the criteria on the scales with the help of at least one input device in conjunction with the graphic display unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method for selecting products, wherein witheach product there is associated a data set with a plurality ofcharacteristics of the product, wherein the selection of a product isperformed based on user-defined criteria relating to thecharacteristics, and wherein the selection is displayed on a graphicdisplay unit.

Methods known so far for selecting products allow the user to perform atargeted search for individual products in a product group with the helpof search functions. The products are classified based on theircharacteristics and data sets are generated for the individual products.The database generated in this manner can be searched by using varioussearch algorithms according to the criteria inputted by the user. Ithappens frequently during searches in large databases that anexceedingly large number of products matches the search criteriainputted by the user which makes it very difficult for the user to makea selection.

One example for the aforedescribed selection method is the Internetsales offer from the company Amazon.com. This online merchant offers avariety of products via its Internet pages. The products are initiallysubdivided into product groups, such as for example books, music andvarious other products. The user has to first select the desired productgroup, whereafter he can search within this product group for allavailable products that are offered by the merchant Amazon.com. Inaddition to this first coarse product classification, the products aresubdivided into individual categories. For example, the available booktitles are here subdivided into categories, such as biographies,computer, money, community, children's books, youth books, art andculture, etc. When the user selects one of these product categories, heis offered by the merchant a selection of several products associatedwith this category. The user can again select certain sub-categorieswithin a category. For example, under the category biographies, thesub-categories Federal Republic of Germany, DDR, importantpersonalities, diaries or current events can be found. The user has theoption to perform a hierarchical search in these sub-categories or tosearch the respective selected category, respective sub-category usingkey words.

If the user wishes to order a certain product from the goods offered bythe merchant, then he has to describe this product with the searchfunction so narrowly that the result of the search steers him to thedesired product, or he has to search through the hierarchically arrangedsearch trees of the product categories. Only at the end of his searchwill he get an idea if a search actually leads him to the desiredproduct.

Another known sales offer is the sales offer in the Internet from thecompany Quelle. The selection method also enables the user to searchwithin the available products by using a selective search query. Becauseof the company Quelle offers a large number of products, a search of allavailable products produces a confusingly large number of results. Tosupport the user in his search and selection of the desired products,the offered products are already subdivided into specific categories,such as small appliances, home improvement, sports, fashion and consumerelectronics. After the user has selected one of these categories, he canperform a more refined search within the sub-categories. For example,under the category consumer electronics, there are sub-categoriesphotography, TV sets, DVD, etc. If the user looks for products for a DVDplayer, then he will certainly select the category DVD. In the categoryDVD, the products are again subdivided into the product categoriesDVD-software, sets, players. In the category software, the user nowfinds all available DVD movies and can select the desired product fromthe large number of offered products.

Disadvantageously, a search with search queries performed according tothe aforedescribed state of the technology produces, one hand, anunmanageable large number of results. For the search to be successful,the user has to accurately describe the product he is looking for. Onthe other hand, the searches through the hierarchically constructedsearch trees are very time-consuming for the user, and the user onlyfinds out at the end of the search if the correct product is among theselection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Starting from the aforedescribed state of the technology, it is atherefore an object to simplify the selection process in such a way thatthe number of results is limited by simplifying the criteria applied tothe product characteristics.

The invention solves the aforedescribed object in that the criteria forthe product characteristics are set on at least two scales and thecriteria on the scales are set with the help of at least one inputdevice in conjunction with the graphic display unit.

Because the user can search through the offered products with the helpof at least two scales, wherein the scales represent characteristics ofthe products, a selection is possible based on criteria relating to theproduct characteristics. Since the criteria on the scales can be changedin parallel, the product offers can be easily navigated. Representativeresults are displayed to the user already during the search within theproduct categories defined by the scales. For example, the entire rangeof nature films offered within a product category for nature films canbe searched based on two scales, with one scale representing the moodexpressed in the film and the second scale representing the timelinessof the representative film. The display gives already during the searchan overview over the corresponding products that match the predeterminedcharacteristics. This type of selection method enables the user tosearch within a product offer in a time-saving manner, whereby the userdoes not have to precisely specify the product in order to make hisselection.

The criteria set on scales can be selected based on both discrete andcontinuous changes. When the criteria on the scales change in a discretemanner, the products need to be classified in such a way that theircharacteristics can be associated with well-defined categories. When thecriteria on the scales change in a continuous manner, the products needto be classified in such a way that they can be recalled with the helpof continuous scales. For example, a movie could be classified on a“mood” scale between “gloomy” and “merry”. A movie can, on the otherhand, be associated with exactly one of these two categories, on theother hand, the movie can also be placed fuzzily between these twocategories.

To better present the product and to visualize on the scales the changesmade by the user, it is helpful to subdivide the graphic display unitinto at least four sections in such a way that in a first section thecharacteristics associated with the current criteria are displayed, thatin a second section of the display unit a selection of the productscorresponding to a combination of the characteristics is displayed, thatin a third section the scales are displayed, and that in a fourthsection product information of the selected products is displayed. Thisenables the user, on one hand, to recognize the current criteria on thescales and, on the other hand, to select from an assortment of productsthat correspond to these criteria. The user will therefore know veryquickly in which direction the criteria have to be changed to find aproduct with the desired characteristics.

A guarantee can be given that the actually selected product is orderedor that additional information regarding this product is obtained byshowing an interface in a section of the graphic display unit and bysending after an interaction between the user and the interfaceinformation about the product that was selected at that time to a remotecomputer and by processing this information with the help of informationassociated with the user. A user can thereby conveniently order theselected product. Additional product information can also be sent to theuser in this manner. For example, with music products, the user canlisten to brief excerpts from the selected music piece.

The selection of the products is simplified to a large degree bydisplaying and/or playing graphic and/or acoustic content thatcorresponds to the respective criteria while the criteria on the scaleson the graphic display unit change. For example, when selecting movieproducts, movie clips from the movies can be played on the graphicdisplay unit while the criteria on the scales change. Images and soundcan also be played which are associated by the user with thecorresponding criteria.

By subdividing the data sets in a first step into data groupscharacterized by generic terms and by adapting in a second step thescales according to the selected data groups, the scales can bedynamically changed depending on the selected data groups. For examplewith movie products, it may be possible to offer a user for those moviesthat belong to the data group Nature Films a “mood” scale between“eventful” and “informative”, as well as a “time” scale between“current” and “ancient”. In the data group science-fiction, the “mood”scale can be moved between the values “gloomy” and “merry” and the“time” scaled between “Middle Ages” and “distant future”.

The product selection is made more convenient by highlighting in thefirst step on the graphic display unit on a body having a plurality ofplanes a plane representing the actual data group depending on theselected top category, by setting in the second step criteria for theproduct characteristics, and by then highlighting on the graphic displayunit a location within the selected plane which represents thecombination of the at least two criteria. The criteria inputted by theuser are processed graphically so that the user is always informed aboutthe actual status of these criteria. Hence, he does not get lost duringthe search, but can find the products in a targeted fashion, which havethe characteristics matching the selected criteria.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a first step of the selection method of the invention;

FIG. 2 a second step of the selection method of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts a graphic display unit 100. The graphic display unit 100which is implemented, for example, as a LCD display or a monitor, issubdivided into two sections 102 and 104. The various product categories110 a–f for a particular product group, for example books, music CDs orvideo movies, are displayed in section 102. For example, the productcategories comedy, home, suspense, science-fiction, Western and cartoonare displayed in the product group video movies. The user can selectfrom the product categories 110 a–f with the help of the input device(not shown), for example a mouse. A cube 106 is shown in section 104.The cube is subdivided into different layers 106 a–f, which representthe product categories 110 a–f that can be selected by the user. Whenthe user selects one of the product categories 110 a–f, thecorresponding plane of the cube 106 is optically highlighted. As seen inFIG. 1, the user has selected the product category 110 dscience-fiction. As a result of the selection, the plane 106 d of secure106 is optically highlighted. After the user has made a final selectionof a product category, the plane of the cube 106 that represents theproduct category selected by the user is highlighted on the graphicdisplay unit.

FIG. 2 shows such a plane 206. The graphic display unit 100 is heresubdivided into four sections. The plane 206 which represents theproduct category 110 d selected by the user is illustrated in section210. Section 230 always gives the user an overview over the selectedcriteria. In this section, the exemplary product category“Science-Fiction”, the product attribute “Future”, the mood “Gloomy” andthe era “The 80-ties” are shown for the movies to be displayed accordingto the criteria. In section 240, a selection of available products withthe characteristics corresponding to the selected criteria are displayedto the user. The user can select the desired product with the inputdevice (not shown). After the user has selected the desired product,more information relating to this product can be displayed to the userin section 250. For example, an image or a film clip of a selected moviecan be shown in this field. In addition, title, release date, actor andsales price can be displayed.

As mentioned above, the plane 206 is depicted in section 210. The plane206 represents the two scales 205 a and 205 b on which the user canselect the criteria for the products within the selected productcategory. While the user navigates within this plane 206 with the helpof the input device (not shown), the corresponding location 208 isoptically highlighted. The user can now freely move on these scales anddefine criteria for his selection. The farther he moves along the scale205 a, the farther the advances in the “era” scale. The user can nowselect along the scale 205 a among science-fiction movies from theMiddle Ages and from the distant future. Along the scale 205 b, the usercan select a criterion relating to the mood conveyed by the movie to beselected. The scale 205 b offers the user the possibility to selectbetween a merry and a very gloomy mood. A selection of availableproducts is displayed in the section 240 reflecting the combination ofthe criteria on the scales of the plane 206. It would also be feasiblefor the user to move in section 210 not only within a two-dimensionalplane 206, but to select with the help of suitable input devices searchcriteria on scales arranged along other directions in amulti-dimensional space.

The user can order the product with the help of section 220. For thispurpose, the user activates the plane 220 with the help of the inputdevice (not shown), whereafter the product data for the selected productare transmitted to a remote computer (not shown). The computer processesthe user's order, and the user then receives the ordered product.

1. Method for selecting products wherein a data set with a plurality ofproduct characteristics is associated with each product, a product isselected based on search criteria selected by a user regarding thecharacteristics, information about the selected product is displayed ona graphic display unit, the search criteria for the characteristics areselected from at least two scales by way of at least one input device inconjunction with the graphic display unit, the method comprising thesteps: subdividing the data sets into data groups characterized bygeneric terms, representing said data groups as a plurality ofcorresponding planes of a three-dimensional body displayed on thegraphic display unit, selecting a data group by selecting thecorresponding plane on the graphic display unit, whereby the selectedplane is highlighted on the graphic display unit, providing a particularset of at least two scales which corresponds to each data group,selecting a combination of at least two search criteria, andhighlighting on the graphic display unit a location within the selectedplane which represents the combination of the at least two searchcriteria.
 2. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step ofselecting the search criteria based on discrete changes on the scales.3. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of selectingthe search criteria based on continuous changes on the scales.
 4. Methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the graphic display unit is subdividedinto at least four sections in such a way that in a first sectionproduct characteristics associated with the selected search criteria aredisplayed, that in a second section a selection of productscorresponding to a combination of the product characteristics isdisplayed, that in a third section the scales corresponding to saidselected data group are displayed, and that in a fourth section productinformation relating to a selected products is displayed.
 5. Methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: displaying aninterface in a section of the graphic display unit, after an interactionbetween a user and the interface, sending product information about aselected product to a remote computer, and processing the productinformation in conjunction with user information associated with theuser.
 6. Method according to claim 1, wherein when a user changes thesearch criteria, graphic content corresponding to the changed searchcriteria is displayed on the graphic display unit.
 7. Method accordingto claim 1, wherein when the user changes the search criteria, acousticcontent corresponding to the changed search criteria is played byloudspeakers substantially arranged on the graphic display unit. 8.Method according to claim 1, wherein the body representing the planes ofthe data groups is formed by a cube.
 9. Method according to claim 1,wherein the body representing the planes of the data groups is formed bya sphere.